Columbus outdoor pools in Linden, Hilltop to undergo $13 million overhaul next year
The pools at Glenwood Community Center and Windsor Park are due for construction slated to begin next fall as the city looks to revamp many of its aquatics facilities in the years ahead.
Eric Lagatta
Columbus outdoor pools in Linden and the Hilltop will undergo a total $13 million in renovation work next year as the city looks to overhaul many of its aquatic facilities in the years ahead.
Mayor Andrew J. Ginther announced Tuesday that the outdoor pools at the Glenwood Community Center in the Hilltop and Windsor Park in Linden are due for major reconstruction work beginning in fall 2022.
All but $1 million of the total $13 million funding will come from the city's 2021 capital improvements budget, Ginther said. The remaining funds will come from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s community development block grant program.
“Our commitment to improving these facilities represents our broader commitment to investing in our neighborhoods,” Ginther said in a prepared statement. “By providing newer, better and safer recreational spaces for our residents to enjoy, we are meeting the evolving needs of a growing community while laying the foundation for healthy habits and behaviors that will last a lifetime.”
Specifics on the proposed renovation projects are not yet available for the Hilltop and Linden community center pools, said Kevin Kilbane, a spokesman for Ginther's office, who added that the projects are in the preliminary planning stages.
The two pools are among eight outdoor pools operated by the Columbus Recreation and Parks Department, which also manages one indoor pool and seven spray parks and fountains. Many of these aquatic facilities are similarly slated for improvements in the years ahead, but the Linden and Hilltop pools were selected first because they are older, said Kerry Francis, chief communications officer for city Recreation and Parks.
Francis said the public will be able to provide input when the design proposals for the Linden and Hilltop pool facilities are likely released sometime this fall. City officials hope to have the rehab work completed in time for the start of the 2023 pool season, she said.
The city Recreation and Parks Department developed a long-term Aquatics Capital Improvement Plan after conducting a community survey starting in the spring and hosting several teleconference meetings this summer to gauge what residents would like to see at those facilities.
Future projects at the targeted sites may include pool replacements, infrastructure upgrades or expansions, and the additions of play features, accessibility features and shelter areas.
“Our pools offer a place for kids and families to keep cool, connect with each other and have fun in the summer,” Paul Rakosky, interim director of Recreation and Parks, said in a prepared statement.
"Continually investing in our facilities is part of our commitment to building and maintaining the best possible parks system," Rakosky said. "The improvements to the Glenwood and Windsor pools are the first in a long series of planned improvements to our aquatics facilities, and we look forward to engaging the community throughout this process.”
elagatta@dispatch.com
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